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Intercessions for Sixth Sunday after Trinity Year A (Proper 12): 27 July 2014

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The Collect

Merciful God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as pass our understanding: pour into our hearts such love toward you that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain our promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

¶ The Liturgy of the Word

First Reading: Genesis 29.15-28

Laban said to Jacob, ‘Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?’ Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah’s eyes were lovely, and Rachel was graceful and beautiful. Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, ‘I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.’ Laban said, ‘It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.’ So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. Then Jacob said to Laban, ‘Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.’ So Laban gathered together all the people of the place, and made a feast. But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. (Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid.) When morning came, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, ‘What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?’ Laban said, ‘This is not done in our country giving the younger before the firstborn. Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.’ Jacob did so, and completed her week; then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife.

Psalm 105.1-11,45b

O give thanks to the Lord and call upon his name; *make known his deeds among the peoples.
Sing to him, sing praises, *and tell of all his marvellous works.
Rejoice in the praise of his holy name; *let the hearts of them rejoice who seek the Lord.
Seek the Lord and his strength; * seek his face continually.
Remember the marvels he has done, *his wonders and the judgements of his mouth,
O seed of Abraham his servant, *O children of Jacob his chosen.
He is the Lord our God; *his judgements are in all the earth.
He has always been mindful of his covenant, *the promise that he made for a thousand generations:
The covenant he made with Abraham, *the oath that he swore to Isaac,
Which he established as a statute for Jacob, *an everlasting covenant for Israel,
Saying, ‘To you will I give the land of Canaan *to be the portion of your inheritance.’
That they might keep his statutes *and faithfully observe his laws. Alleluia.

Second Reading: Romans 8.26-39

The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than  conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 13.31-33,44-52

Jesus put before the crowd another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’ He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Have you understood all this?’ They answered, ‘Yes.’ And he said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’


The gospel this week is so packed with parables that it is like being spun round several times on the spot and left to find our way, rather groggily, to the nearest place we can sit down and take it all in. I cannot quote the whole of Jane Williams on the subject, but I do recommend you read her, which you can do here (pp 94-95 – searching for ‘scribe’ will take you to page 95). Perhaps the most evocative commentary of all is R S Thomas’s ‘The Bright Field’, which he reads here; the text is here.

Prayers of Intercession

Let us pray to the God of compassion for the light to know his will, and the grace to obey it.

¶The Church of Christ

Lord, again and again you renew your promise, putting a new heart and spirit within us. You demand no unthinking obedience, no loyalty blind and correct. You do not try to control us, but instead seek the pledge of our wills and our hearts, freely given in love for you. You have bound yourself to us, and we belong inextricably to you and to each other. Keep us giving and receiving your presence among us, protecting those who are weak and in need, our trust deepening through sacraments of love.

Lord, give us grace to work for the coming of your kingdom: in your mercy, hear our prayer

¶Creation, human society, the Sovereign and those in authority

Lord, we have rejoiced at the sight of the sun breaking through the clouds for an instant to illuminate a small field. We have gazed in wonder at the ocean. And in those moments, we have glimpsed a sight of your face. And then the mundane concerns of the every day world resurface and we forget the glories of these treasures. Help us to live in the moment. Help us never to forget these times when we are filled with awe at the marvels of your creation, and lost in wonder, love and praise.

Lord, give us grace to work for the coming of your kingdom: in your mercy, hear our prayer

¶The local community

Lord, give us the insight to see the miraculous in the everyday things that surround us. Give us the insight to see the face of your Son in everyone with whom we come into contact. Let us embrace one another, choosing in friendship to share our being and becoming. Let us learn from the farmers of the East, who use two people to accomplish every task, one to push and one to pull, so that everyone may be employed in the vineyard of the Lord as  we offer you our hands and feet to do your work.

Lord, give us grace to work for the coming of your kingdom: in your mercy, hear our prayer

¶Those who suffer

Lord, give us, and all who are in pain, courage today. Courage that we may think about something other than the distress that we feel. Courage that we may not dwell on a future which we fear may be bleak. Courage to put ourselves in the place of those around us and spare them the misery of watching the suffering of those whom they love. Give all who suffer the strength to look outwards, rather than inwards. May your eternal spirit flood our souls and bodies, filling every corner with light and grace; so that we may be diffusers of life, meeting all ills with gallant and high-hearted happiness, giving you thanks always for all things.

Lord, give us grace to work for the coming of your kingdom: in your mercy, hear our prayer

¶The communion of saints

Lord, we thank you for all the saints who went before us, who have spoken to our hearts and touched us with your fire. Lord, we thank you for all the saints who live beyond us, who challenge us to change the world with them. And we thank you for your promise that death shall have no more dominion.

Lord, give us grace to work for the coming of your kingdom: in your mercy, hear our prayer

 

Copyright acknowledgement : Some material included in this service is copyright: © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ, USA. Some material included in this service is copyright: © The Archbishops’ Council 2000. Collect (6th after Trinity, Short) © The Archbishops’ Council 2005

3 comments on this post:

minidvr said...
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Thanks Laura

25 July 2014 06:34
Davina said...
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I love the way you express God’s love in your intercessions,
they are always such a help to me…Thank you….Blessings

Lay Anglicana said...
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Thank-you very much, Davina – encouragement is always welcome! :>)

26 July 2014 09:59
26 July 2014 09:05

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